CAN YOU ROAD TRIP IN AN EV? 600 Miles in the Audi e-tron GT

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Today, I'm in the Audi e-tron GT Quattro, travelling as far down south as I can to Beachy Head in Eastbourne. But what is it actually like to do a road trip in an electric car? Let's find out....
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[@TillyCollie]

I had a Jaguar iPace for several months and it was a fantastic car as long as I didn’t need to make a journey more than 200 miles from home. What people often do not realise is that although you may start a journey with 100% charge, when you are on route you wont be charging to more than 80% because that’s when the charging speed drops dramatically. You also wont want to allow the battery to drop below 20% because of uncertainty finding an available and working charger. So really, you can only use 60% of the battery capacity. The range is inversely proportional to your speed and drops significantly from 60 - 70 mph and more so should you exceed the national speed limit. It is of course on long journeys when you are likely to be on a motorway and want to travel faster. In a nutshell, the manufacturer claims 300 miles range but at 70 mph with heater or air con on this drops to 240 miles. But you can only safely use 60% of that in between charges so that means that you need to find a charger every 140 miles! I sold my iPace after running flat with 4 faulty charging stations in a row between Exeter and Truro. I had to wait 4 hours for a flatbed transporter and paid £340 for it to be carried home.

[@mariemccann5895]

Good illustration of how EVs are con. They are not environmentally friendly either.

[@Osmosis909]

Firstly. Any non-Tesla owner will have this problem, I went for and still have a Tesla Model 3 LR, I have never had a faulty charger (Tesla super-charger) or any issues with range or charging. The problem is, public chargers that aren’t well maintained and are expensive.

[@mariemccann5895]

@@Osmosis909 Here come the Tesla shills pmsl

[@CHEEKYlad_lol]

​@@mariemccann5895I'm no shill but you have to admit you'd feel more at ease knowing you can use a reliable Tesla supercharger network

[@strangerdanger8462]

​@@mariemccann5895The Tesla charging network is light-years ahead of everyone else. It's just the truth. I still think EVs are not a replacement for ICE vehicles.

[@Michael-xv9ku]

I wish you had learned more before you reviewed: - You never had the car preconditioned because you weren't using the onboard nav. - Ionity supports plug and charge if you had set that up with Audi. - You also could have used an app like Plugshare to know those chargers were not available before you navigated to them. This looked like more of an experience of someone renting an EV, not an owner.

[@StephenButlerOne]

Chargemap is a cracking EV routolaner, that you can simply one click port to Google maps. Also just like octopus, has a plug and charge set up that works across many networks, including Tesla superchargers, that always work, give you the full whack you can take and is far cheaper than the competition.

[@thomasj1148]

Driven to the UK five times all the way from Norway in a Tesla Model 3 Long Range. Our longest charging stop on our last trip was 18 minutes. Our charging infrastructure is world leading, with 20-40 Supercharger stalls common. I’ve yet to queue for a charge the last four years. In fact there are so many chargers you’d struggle to drive more than 10 minutes on the motorways to find one. The UK? Put simply it’s like going back in time. Here’s some stats: The UK has 3800 ultra rapid chargers. Norway has 7000 with a population 13 times smaller. Thanks for the video!

[@dirkdiggler69]

Pretty much sums it up perfectly.

[@grandprix1337]

Ironically, built on a GDP that's 20% fossil fuel generated.

[@glenbetton3146]

I think it's a good illustration of how the UK has spiraled down over the last 20-30 years to now being a 2nd world country. Sad to see but very true.

[@importantlookingpirate]

Good if you could add km in The text

[@vailydragon]

There is no doubt Tesla have cracked it. Now making the "3" in China and starting to discount prices here. Thank you for your comment and understanding why we are becoming ever reticent about EV's and 1st time new buyers.

[@DubheJames]

Will offer a different experience. As one of the first people in the UK to buy a model 3 performance back in 2019 and have the car for over 4 years. I only hit a charging issue a handful of times (less than 10) now i drive from Manchester to Glasgow monthly. So in that time over 40 times. In all weather. I top up ar gretna and recharge on the way back at tebay. Always on tesla supercharges. I have a 7kw charger at home. Its on an intellegent tarrif so had been 4p per KW night rate. Its now 8p but still a sub 8 pound full charge. I am just about to buy a second EV and have kept my tesla account so will just use the infrastructure. What i did notice is that in 2019 and 2020 i was sometimes one of the only people at the charger. Now they are certainly more busy.

[@haydensmith888]

This is really interesting video and I really enjoyed the real world review, I own an EV and unfortunately I often have very similar experiences, whenever we go anywhere other than local trips we take our 20 year old diesel which works perfectly and far less stress and anxiety.

[@twig3288]

Somehow, don’t think your EV will be operational in 20 years time

[@haydensmith888]

@@twig3288 I think it has the durability and longevity to last 20 years

[@PixelVibe42]

Recently did a return trip to Manchester (550 miles) on 3/4 tank of diesel. 70mph on cruise the whole way, fully loaded car and a/c on. Not once did I have 'range anxiety'. At every service station there were EV's queuing, and their owners having a coffee while waiting (add the £4 coffee and £3 pastry to your charging stop every time). For longer trips you can't beat a modern, efficient diesel. Edit: I actually repeated this same trip the following week, again on 3/4 tank of diesel. Took about 3 minutes to fill up and literally smashed out another 550 mile trip.

[@andy2a2m]

what car you are driving?

[@PixelVibe42]

@@andy2a2m F-Pace, 2.0 Diesel ('21 year).

[@rasherbasher8203]

Totally agree. Can't beat diesel when it comes to long journeys. Sod saving the planet

[@johnwebster6360]

Have you seen the description on EVs ... Your choice ofcourse but it makes no sense to me

[@steadfastandyx4947]

Why ?

[@AJAC1]

I have owned an E-Niro since 2019, at that point chargers were reasonably accessible, albeit with less availability. In the last 18 months the charging infrastructure has become more challenging. Hence I’m selling my EV and going back to a Rav4 PHEV. Whilst I love the way EVs drive the frustrations of the charging network are just to painful. I throughly agreed with everything you said and your experiences.

[@CGCTV]

If you were an early adopter of EV (in the mid 2010s) it was a great experience because it was actually cheaper to run than ICE as it was around 15pKW at a service station not 80p. and availability was still pretty decent especially if you had a Tesla model S that came with unlimited free supercharging

[@spizzenergi2292]

I just don’t need that sort of stress in my life.

[@moragkerr9577]

@@spizzenergi2292 Just get an EV and run it normally then, and avoid deliberately creating stressful situations then playing them up for likes.

[@gavery5027]

This is exactly the experience I had when I owned an Audi etron. I loved the car and hated the charging infrastructure. I changed to an Audi Q7 55 tsi and my wife has a Mini electric that we charge at home and never take on longer journeys. This works perfectly.

[@teatimetel174]

a friend of mines 70 plate mini ev burst into flames while on charge a few weeks back.only 16000 miles.these evs need a harzard warning.

[@stevehancox8285]

Hi Matt, love the channel and thanks for putting yourself through such torture to demonstrate the problems with the non-Tesla EV charging network in the UK. I have had a Tesla Model 3 for 4 years. I have driven the length and breadth of the UK over that time (including Orkney) without any major issues. The Tesla Supercharger network is the game changer when owning a Tesla. If I am doing a long journey, I charge to 90-100% at home then most of the time I only use Superchargers on long journeys. The only time I have had to wait for a charger in 4 years was at Gretna Green (only 4 Tesla Superchargers there at the time). Most other sites, there are large numbers of chargers and waiting is not an issue. I usually pay around 35-40p per kWh when using the Superchargers (the car tells you how much you have paid). The car also navigates to available chargers and preheats the battery for faster charging when you get there. Having said that Scotland’s non-Tesla EV charging network worked well for me via Charge Place Scotland when there were no Superchargers around (such as on Orkney Mainland)

[@Supraboyes]

Tesla are boring ugly cars, not everyone wants one.

[@randomstoragespace]

Completely agree. Never had issues with my Tesla. I do monthly Trips to Europe in it. Model Y with 35k miles and still going strong. My local supercharger is 42p KWH during peak times and the non Tesla chargers right next to them are 68p lol

[@ChipperMega]

Great video and reflects exactly what I've found. I've had EVs since 2015, currently using an eNiro with the lease ending in November, I'll be replacing it with a 3 litre BMW diesel. Public rapid charging availability is now worse than it was when 8 years ago. In September we did a trip from Devon to the Lake district, over 6 days we did 1077 miles. Where we were stating had a public charger so I could charge over night. On the way to the Lakes I spent 30 minutes on the phone to Gridserve at Gloucester services trying to get a charger to start but had to give up. Then the next 2 were busy, we finally charged on the 4th service station. 10 minutes in to charging, after I just sat down to eat my (very late) lunch the car tells me charging stopped, someone had pressed the stop button on the charger so I had to go out and start it again. On the way home it was a similar story, no chargers available on 3 attempts, got to Exeter really needing a charge and there were 2 cars already waiting, we had to wait around 45 minutes for a charger and in the mean time, 4 more cars got behind me in the queue. The cost of charging over the week was £149.52. In a BMW 330d it would have cost £124.59 in diesel and would have saved 4 or 5 hours of my time and a lot of stress.

[@randomstoragespace]

lol should have got a Tesla. Only people i ever hear moan about having an EV are non Tesla owners.

[@ChipperMega]

@@randomstoragespace Not everyone can afford a Tesla and purchasing an older Tesla is a massive risk. The batteries seem to go just after the warranty runs out and they want £16k to replace it. So a Tesla is fine if you can afford it and afford to replace it every few years.

[@mikebreen2890]

@@ChipperMega The evidence that Tesla batteries go bad please?

[@ChipperMega]

@@mikebreen2890 How about kzbin.info/www/bejne/oH3UkJ2Gdqprlck and kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX_HaapmoNmjh6s - two KZbin channels I follow that had to have their model S batteries replaced.

[@Sturge0519]

I suppose it depends on the ev you drive, recently had to go from Reading to Hexham for a wedding charged the car to 100% off my excess solar and headed off 3 up. Due to traffic the car informed me I could make it to Washington with 5% left but my bladder couldn’t so stopped at Ferrybridge plugged into a Supercharger went for a comfort break, grabbed a coffee as needed some caffeine and had more than enough to get to Hexham. Hotel we were stopping at was next to a council car park with 11kW chargers at only 31p per kW. Yes had to download an app but was able to charge to 100% with free parking for the weekend. Following day was the wedding then set off the day after, car said could get to Oxford. Again bladder not that good so stopped at Ferrybridge again, plugged into a Supercharger went for comfort break, grabbed a coffee and headed home. Got back to Reading with 20% battery. Painless, easy and simple and less than £30 spent.

[@jeromezone]

Yep. I switched to EV two months ago as I get free electric at work. I have done 3 200+ mile journeys in that time (I normally do 1 a year, just random timing) and had one issue - it really seems like detouring 3 or 4 miles to avoid motorway chargers is the answer

[@moragkerr9577]

@@jeromezone I tried it both ways, but really, the main reason for detouring off the motorway was because the food was better elsewhere. The new banks of 350 Kw Gridserves that are springing up all over the place on the motorways get the charging done super-efficiently, and I've never turned up to find them all occupied.

[@philipfoster7269]

This is why I have gone for an PHEV and a home wall box. I can do nearly all of my local driving and commuting on full EV but still do proper road trips without all this frustration and anxiety. I'm sure it'll get there one day but until the government actually puts as much money into the network as they've wasted on HS2, they're pissing in the wind.

[@NomadJRG]

The only problem with PHEVs is that they are complex having both electric and ICE engines. They need more servicing than EVs and weigh more than typical ICE cars, if either engine has an issue the car can be undriveable. When all working though they are great for local commutes when combined with home charging.

[@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars]

@@NomadJRG Having both on board is the solution though ..not the problem. The tech is well sorted now...if you drop down in google maps onto the streets of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia the place if full to breaking point of used Toyota Prius going back 25 years.

[@teabagtowers3823]

It's not stressful if you plan ahead a bit I can point out a few flaws in this video. For one the Audi E-tron has a pretty crappy range for en EV if you get something like Tesla Model 3 or BMW I4 you get much better range that actually is nearly 300 miles. Granted he did charge at home which is what you should do if you have the option. Problem is he's just rocking up to these chargers without checking them first on say Zapmap app. It takes 5 minutes and users on the app will report if it is out of action a charger. I've done 330 miles in BMW I4 easily I charged at home to full before I set off. When I got to near my destination not that far from Cobham funnily enough I had already looked into which charger to go to. Ionity fast charger at Beaconsfield I got lucky there was one free charger. Plugged the car in it was still on 49% because the I4 unlike the E-tron has a decent range. Anyway went for a coffee and KFC which is what you'd do anyway if you're on a long journey half an hour later come back to the car it's on 95%. Then next day go to my main destination where I going that office has about 40 chargers. So battery filled up finished drive the 165 miles with no issues back home. People who whinge about EV’s or say they are stressful are the ones who don't do any research at all if they do a journey in one. Then they start whining as soon as things don't go their way.

[@tobychristian4741]

Bull shit. I had a leas electric car for 2 years. Charging was ok for about 1½ years. Then it got too busy and exactly as the video. I used zap map but there are just not enough working charges. You cannot dress it up.

[@dmn1000000]

​@@teabagtowers3823agree. I like Matt's videos a lot but I felt this was just being a bit anti EV for the sake of it. I own a Zoe and have just completed a trip to southern Spain in it via France and although it does take extra time to charge versus fuelling an ice car it wasn't too bad. Where I agree with Matt is the constant pain of having to download apps and putting all your info - that's needs to stop. But if you use Zapmap or a better route planner you can avoid a lot of the problems shown in the video. Also a good app to use is Octopus Electroverse.

[@Canalsman]

I visit France regularly on long trips in my motorhome. I have been observing the provision of charging points, not for the motorhome I hasten to add, and it's striking how much better the network has developed. You go to the smallest village miles from anywhere and there are charging points. And because there are so many charging points many are ready and waiting to be used. What a contrast!

[@eastwood978]

The smallest village has charging points but they are slow chargers so around 8 hours.

[@theicemario15]

Beautifully shot and edited video. Also refreshing to see a sleek saloon in this world of crossovers and SUVs.

[@dominicwood3750]

Yeah but £93k I’d be happier in that £1500 S Class Merc

[@firehog]

Never had a problem roadtripping in an EV, but then again, I have never driven in the UK. I usually use an app to see if there are any reported broken stalls and avoid that place. 10% state of charge? No problems. When the infra works, evs work.

[@Alfie-mw7ub]

Matt your 1 of 2 KZbin channels that I generally are excited and enjoy watching. Keep up the good work.

[@HighPeakAutos]

Wow, thanks!

[@derekporter66]

What's the other

[@Alfie-mw7ub]

@@derekporter66 carwow

[@robk1003]

Brilliant video. I'm a Service Engineer who has to travel throughout the UK. My company offers electric cars. I've opted out and use a petrol Golf with 100,000 miles on it. Financially, it makes little difference running my own car or having a basic EV. So basically, i prefer a 100,000 mile Golf to a new MG4.😊

[@borinvlogs]

Company should have offer you Tesla Model 3 Long Range. You wouldn't have any issue. I have driven mine Performance model (less range) for 10,000 miles in just 5 months, did road trips all over Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, South Wales, Snowdonia mountain, Scotland and not a single issue. Hotels we stay at usually have FREE destination chargers, always leave the hotel with full charge (300 miles around) and FREE. Last road trip put 700 miles and cost £4 total for fuel. After driving 10,000 miles total cost is £34. FREE charge at work. £3 to fully charge at home. 3.1sec to 60, 11.5s 1/4 mile. Dog Mode, Sentry Mode, Best sound system, Autopilot to let me enjoy scenic views...Tesla FTW

[@khalidacosta7133]

@@borinvlogs You should try a diesel. It actually saves the planet as it emits far less CO2. Both at production and on the road. Plus, a full tank, can easily get you 800 miles range. It's cheaper to buy, so while you are enjoying autopilot (which you can have on a diesel anyway), I'll be on holiday, enjoying the view with the money I saved over buying an eV. 👍👍

[@rickmoz]

@@khalidacosta7133that’s a load of rubbish, nox ridden diesel cause less pollution and damage to public health from the tailpipe.

[@ukvette]

We can get 288 miles from our standard M3 RWD. Teslas lead the way !

[@justincase6645]

£93,000 for a car with serious limitations ??? Not this side of the sun !

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Needs a twin turbo diesel V8, great test Matt, good consumer advice.

[@Siamese_cat_]

The answer is RS7

[@gilleyb1900]

I love how people say you are doing it wrong or get a Tesla, this is a snap shot of your journey, its indisputable, its reality and fact.

[@PaulGSimGolfandRacing]

I own one. From new and it’s 10 months old. Absolutely love it!! Home charger costs me £7 to fill from empty to full. I’ve only used public chargers twice and never had any issue.

[@Bennary]

Exactly, they’re only good for people who have used a public charger twice in 10 months! Great if you never leave your local town, terrible in any other circumstance

[@PaulGSimGolfandRacing]

@@Bennary I do leave my local town. As long as you don’t drive 150 miles somewhere and straight back - they are brilliant

[@Sukkulents_]

Yes but anything further and the infrastructure falls apart@@PaulGSimGolfandRacing

[@buonafortuna8928]

Yeah, thanks Matt. You've pretty much confirmed my thoughts on EVs. We looked at them last year but as you say "They ain't ready yet". If I want to go somewhere, I'm not looking for an adventure.

[@bugsygoo]

No, the ev's are more than ready. This report highlights the poor infrastructure in GB, not the inadequacies of EVs. I visited the UK in June and spent 3 weeks in a EV around the Cotswolds and SW England, and found everything Matt said to be true. But where I live, it's just not like that. But the rubbish infrastructure is all over the UK. The trains, the roads, the airports. Even the footpaths are crap!

[@buonafortuna8928]

@@bugsygoo The best petrol car in the world ain't ready if there is no functioning garage network.

[@bugsygoo]

@@buonafortuna8928 That would mean the garage network isn't ready. Garages are not cars and cars are not garages.

[@dannytall8699]

Yes, just as I thought, perfect example to never listen or believe a politician.

[@RetroClinic]

Good vid, and honest as always. I had a full EV for almost a year, and got rid of it as I was getting the same experience of charging on road trips, just far too frustrating, time consuming and expensive. I’ve got a new Plug In Hybrid on order now, and I think these are the best option, as it gives 30-40 miles of all electric range for local journeys, and then the petrol engine for road trips.

[@lukeclifton4392]

What PHEV are you going for? Quiet often the PHEV equivalent of a Hybrid is less efficient than the normal hybrid aren’t they?

[@RetroClinic]

Lexus NX450h+. Yes, they're a little less efficient on petrol, but not much. However being able to run 30+ miles on pure electric more than makes up for it, as even at current prices (and charging from home), it's about half the cost per mile to run on Electric than it is on petrol.

[@moragkerr9577]

Honest? He set the whole thing up to fail, for clicks and likes.

[@James_Watson49]

Hi ran a Taycan for a while and you have hit the nail on the head with this video. My only advise in regarding charging points is get ZAP Map. It shows all EV charging points and will say if occupied etc.

[@adam_b1187]

Zapmap will tell you if the charging point is in use, it won’t tell you that some muppet has parked his V8 Range Rover there just for the fun of it though…

[@rhiantaylor3446]

As an EV owner, I quickly reailised that you avoid charging away from home wherever possible as it is typically 8 to 10x as expensive. A mini road trip I carried out yesterday was W. London to Cardiff (140 miles) and back. The round trip was more than my Zoe could achieve so I looked on Zapmap for a fast charger in Cardiff that was free and added just enough to make it home again which took about 15 mins.

[@thefiestaguy8831]

An electric car is bad enough... but a French electric car?

[@ianhamilton3113]

@@thefiestaguy8831 My retirement job was at a valet parking company at Gatwick Airport. I drove thousands of cars. W12 Bentley. London Taxis, some US imports and plenty of crap. They gave me a key to my first EV, a Renault Zoe. First impressions, Oh dear. But when I drove it, bloody brilliant!!

[@thefiestaguy8831]

I work in the emergency services. Most of our fleet is a mixture of BMW, Vauxhall, the odd Ford, a Mercedes Sprinter carrier, and Pegeout 308sw cars. The pegeouts are by far the worst, they handle like crap round corners at speed and it feels like you're sliding round them, they're jerky as anything when you move off from a stop or change from drive to reverse gear... Yes our cars never get transmission services and do very high mileage but the BMW's, Vauxhalls and the Ford's dont have that problem and do just as many miles. One of the Pegeouts we have has a broken passenger seat which is slanted one side, and another one has a dodgy steering rack or wheel, when you hit any sort of bump or pothole the steering wheel literally jerks 90 degrees to the right. Tell me that's not poor build quality. Awful transmissions, dodgy seats, bad suspension and steering components. As I said the BMW and the Ford's don't have any of those problems and do just as many miles and are driven in the exact same manner.@@ianhamilton3113

[@stevenajack]

I think this is on the money, I have a Lexus UX 300e, and I LOVE it! I bought it knowing I rarely travel long distances in my car, and for me the trade offs work, I have to say that if you are someone who does a lot of miles away from home an EV probably isn't for you right now. Really the perfect use case is a regular commute (most people do 30 to 50 miles per day) and the very occasional longer trip where you have to charge on the go, I agree with Matt right now on the go charging is very expensive , high electricity rates don't help and the Gov are taking 20% VAT as opposed to 5% at home. Hopefully the VAT rules will change and electricity costs will come down again. As for the Lexus it's a lovely car, great to drive, powerful refined, and just a nice place to be, the range of 195 miles in my top spec version is limited, but it does me, but certainly any round trip of more than 140 miles needs some planning.

[@jp6975]

​@@thefiestaguy8831the Fiesta guy says EVs and French cars are bad. The irony of it.. 😂

[@peegee9931]

A really interesting and honest review on something this country is nowhere near ready for. I wonder what percentage of EV's sold end up traded in within a couple of years. We recently filled our Volvo with diesel for a 300 mile trip to the far west of Cornwall, we got there with over half a tank spare, no stress, no concern about where to charge, and £50 for fuel.

[@ant647448336]

I drove the Mercedes EQB300 for a short while earlier on whilst on holiday in Slovakia and was super impressed with the immediate torque, saying that it was my first time in an EV. I'll stick to my 2023 Civic Hybrid, as that way I won't suffer from range anxiety. I got 470mi (763km) on 34L of petrol.

[@ant647448336]

Also, what was the cost/kWh? In Gibraltar we're paying 12p/kWh which I suspect is significantly cheaper than what you're getting charged in the UK.

[@nigeltrueman6101]

its hardly dynamic though is it

[@lukeclifton4392]

Hybrid is the greener, non-anxiety inducing, safer, cheaper, and better recycling option. I’d be sticking with the civic too!!

[@peterowen4456]

Yes - I've got the Jazz equivalent. Honda have nailed the hybrid system. Great cars.

[@wolvoman1]

I have noticed that at very busy car parks with chargers that EV owners are deliberately parking in charge bays to fulfill their parking needs, even though they dont require an immediate charge.

[@johnnunn8688]

Without plugging in? 😮

[@oliverandersson1991]

this is why i ordered a brand-new 2024 Mazda 3 e-skyactiv-x, its 100% driven on petrol and has very little electrical BS in it and great gasmileage and a fun and cheap car to drive around in.

[@imBugra]

EVs are perfect second cars. My wife has one, it's great. Her e-tron makes north of 180 miles in a single charge easily, which is enough for its purpose. We do long journeys with my petrol car, hence there is no range anxiety. I just didn't get why you went for an AC charging at first place. DC networks are the way to go, Gridserve, Ionity, and Instavolt HPCs are the good ones.

[@Kelveron]

Thank you for doing this and demonstrating that - aside from people with home chargers and doing mainly short distances - EV adoption is not a realistic option for many other people and the 'powers that be' forcing everyone into 'EV only' future is a misguided policy to say the least.

[@thelifeofbatteries2603]

FUD

[@parvinkukar1259]

Definitely agree with all you feedback on the infrastructure as I have very similar experience. However there are apps out there that tell you where the nearest charging point is and if it’s full or broken which I think was a little unfair not to mention Great vid

[@mikeonfreeserve2926]

But apps don't tell you if they are working and how many anxious drivers are waiting

[@hv54wxt]

They don't tell you it's been blocked by an ICE car or a ev driver is just using it to park. That's why I got out of it

[@clfield2]

In the UK EV's only make sense for people who only do local journeys, and mainly town driving and can home charge whenever they need to. This is also better for the air quality in said towns. As soon as you start needing to do longer distance and any motorway miles, ICE vehicles still remain the vehicle of choice

[@accesszero4803]

Thats ok untill they burn your house down

[@moragkerr9577]

Nonsense. There are EVs that can do 400 miles on one charge. If you don't need a break after that, you're an idiot. Charging time on an an ultra-rapid charger is going to leave you with about the time you need to grab a bite to eat and visit the loo.

[@clfield2]

​@moragkerr9577 how many can do 400 miles, and how many can afford one of those? Not the majority of people looking for an EV. You're talking about both a handful of people and also a small amount of vehicles, I'm referring to the general population

[@moragkerr9577]

@@clfield2 That's very true of course. These cars are expensive. But we're still in the early adopter stage, and prices are already coming down. But really, a 400-mile range isn't needed by the "general population". Although my car has a headline range of 218 miles, in practical terms I'd need my head examined if I tried to go more than 150 miles on the motorway. But by that time I'm about ready to eat the steering wheel anyway. I find road trips wonderfully relaxing, but I am aware that if time was more of an issue I should have forked out for the long range faster charging battery at £2,500 more than the £27,000 I paid for my car. Affordable, good-quality second-hand EVs are going to be coming on the market increasingly in the next few years, and that's where people of more modest means who nevertheless need greater range and faster charging speeds are going to find their cars.

[@clfield2]

@moragkerr9577 all valid points, and it all highlights people doing their research and if the vehicles are for for purpose, or if they are just buying them for tax incentives from work or their business. There's also the infrastructure of not enough chargers, not enough free for use when needing them, out of order chargers all can add up to problems when you least need them. Plus, all vehicles degrade over time, as do batteries at which point their range drops. Some first gen Nissan Leaf owners now say they only get 60-80 miles of range. The cost of replacing the batteries is then more than the value of the car, which makes them an uneconomically viable option. It's all about if an EV is fit for your particular purpose, which the more miles and longer journeys you do, tends not to be the case

[@colintennant9375]

All the reasons why I walked away from purchasing an EV vehicle. Great video Matt!

[@JohnAdams-kc8wx]

We got an EV. Matt’s experience absolutely reflects my own, so much so I’ve bought a 20 year old S Class for long journeys, which I’m loving…. Welcome home !

[@harryhall197]

Excellent video, thank you. I was in the UK in July of this year. I rented a Polestar 2 EV and drove to Wales. I ran into exactly the same frustrating issues you pointed out. I couldn't find chargers that worked. I couldn't find some apps. When I did find working chargers, they were all occupied and placed in ridiculous hard to get to, locations. The best chargers were Gridserve as they accepted contactless payment and were fairly reliable. The car was great but getting it charged up was a nightmare. Never again will I rent an EV. The EV charging infrastructure in the UK is embryonic and experimental and sparse. My EV experience was frustrating, annoying and disappointing.

[@billwild673]

Brilliant video. Very enjoyable. Classic Matt rant, whilst he gets more and more frustrated by the dreadful EV infrastructure we enjoy here in the UK. Add to that the lovely car and the AirBnB disaster, and you have all of the key ingredients for an epic HPA video. Keep them coming, Matt.

[@lordmartyn7199]

Definitely have the EV experience on hold, hopefully for decades to come! Good health to you and family, and thanks for sharing this video!

[@mrmrmrcaf7801]

I completely agree with you, I bought a Skoda Enyaq or my wife who doesn't go far and only charges it at our house. It is just for a 10 km commute from where we live to the city to take the kids to school and for her daily chores....we don't have the courage to use it on a road trip, we will end up on the side of the road with 0% battery waiting for a platform to pick it up...I know because I experienced this. Our main car is a diesel Bmw x5 👍I don't think we will give up the ICE car too soon...oh yea and the range is completely BS...especially in winter it drops dramatically. My advice for those who want to own an EV is to please rent one for a week and do some driving around, go visit places 200-300 km away an do the things you always do to see if you can live with the frustrations. Good luck!

[@karlcammish9663]

Just completed a return trip from north of England to northern Spain. Filled up in France in both directions and once in Spain. Diesel Euro six are the best. Won’t be swapping my 3.0 ltr BMW anytime soon.

[@phphph6022]

Yes it is, or in my experience it is. Just done Newcastle to Hull across to Rotterdam then down to Bruges. A bit of running around which added up to 675 miles. Total cost £62. All this in our 3 year old 40kwh Nissan Leaf. No issues , no problems. You can make it hard for a KZbin video or you can use an app like chargemap and it's a doddle.

[@originalkk882]

And how many weeks did it take?

[@maverlk7]

An interesting experience, yet my own has been very much different. I did a 500 month mile round trip to South London on august bank holiday weekend in an electric car with a 254 mile range! It was faster than in an ICE car because my stops coincided with the need to eat, pee and stretch my legs, with the car recharging faster than I could do those things! Watching the queues for petrol pumps on an unplanned stop (for toilets, food and because we were in a stationary M6 jam) made me smile. The 2 electric chargers at Keele services also had a queue, but I didn’t need them. I spent a few minutes planning and it was seemless (apart from 8 hours going and 11 coming back due to the ridiculous traffic). Sat with the heat pump climate control on knowing I wasn’t sat there for hours burning 🔥 fuel was also a ‘smug’ experience. My previous 3litre diesel X5 could do 500 miles on a tank (£140 to fill from empty), but in this traffic I would have been lucky to get 400 so a stop for fuel would have been essential. I believe people take a position on such matters and only seek to justify it, rather than adapt and rationalise and see the overall benefits. Waking up every morning with a full charge for a couple of quid has felt so liberating this last 18 months. I have done numerous road trips and 75p per kwh to charge is a big rise in price, but my X5 would have needed to do over 45 mpg to have been cheaper on fuel (forgetting the £3 cost of a full battery to start with) and that never happened! Perspective is all!

[@ln5747]

Yea a long queue for fuel always happens and for EV doesn't, literally never happened to me in my life. The whole but everyone needs to pee and eat is such a cope and stupid argument. Vast majority want to choose when to do those things and it doesn't take them half an hour to nip in for a piss and grab a sandwich. You're doing exactly what you're accusing others of doing by trying to justify your choice without any basis in reality or logic. Another sanctimonious EV wanker and no ICE driver ever thinks "oh look at that EV driver I bet he's feeling smug right now", exactly the opposite is always the case.

[@mikeonfreeserve2926]

Lucky for you the power stations were grinding out the juice

[@maverlk7]

You know that if power stations are not supplying power, petrol pumps won’t work right? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@saddoncarrs6963]

Nice looking car, very fast and dynamically sound. But no ICE theatre and heavily compromised with regard to practicality. I think I'll buy my last petrol engined car in 2034 and keep it for 10+ years - by which time I'll be well in my nineties and not caring too much.

[@jonathanmusto]

This video makes me so so glad I bought a Tesla. I've never queued once at a Super Charger, the car is usually ready to continue the journey before I've even been served at the coffee shop and Super Charger prices are usually 1/2 that of the other networks. Charging at home gets me around 2.5p per mile, Super Charger around 8p per mile.

[@jonl8509]

Great video, Matt, which highlights the utter folly of EVs. We are steadily turning back the clock 120 years, to a time when only the well off could afford to buy a new car - and even if you could afford one, it wasn't very practical. So much for progress. I'm no climate change denier and reducing air pollution is undoubtedly beneficial, but there has to be better way than this. What's wrong with hybrids, which would seem to be the perfect compromise?

[@michaelkeen5010]

This totally sums up my views on the current EV situation in the U.K. They’re alright for local journeys, but once on a journey of 150+ miles then the problems start with recharging.👍

[@MJM703]

Yeah, really a shame how the UK is not prepared better for EVs and hybrids.

[@TriviaChallenge]

I've done many long journeys in an EV over 8 years and never had an issue. Funny how the naysayers are all fossil owners, huh..

[@johnnunn8688]

@@MJM703, how is it not prepared for hybrids?

[@andrewparker5800]

What people are forgetting is that it took many many decades for petrols stations to become what they are today; on your doorstep, and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For the first 25 years of British motoring, the petrol pump didn't exist, you had to buy cans of petrol from hardware shops and chemists. Even when they did increase in popularity, as recently as the 90s they would still be closed on a Sunday, open just 8am - 5pm, closed at lunch times etc. We've became accustomed to the luxury of convenience, and that's not being taken away. Just as people transitioned from horse and cart to petrol car over many decades, we'll transition from fossil fuelled cars to electric cars. In time we'll have the same convenience that we know today, with no drawbacks. Don't judge the future by what is happening in the present day.

[@Grimbo]

You definitely need a full day at Bletchley park, not an hour or two 🙂

[@PL-fj4uq]

Great to see someone showing real-world usage out of one of these. Nearly bought a similar model a few years back - so glad we didn't with the astronomical depreciation and non-home charging costs so high it makes you wonder why you bother (£60 for 210 miles! Paid £38 for a tank the other day and range is 420 on a petrol hybrid)... for now the sensible middle-ground seems to be hybrid or plug-in hybrid (especially round town/city) where it makes sense having short but zero emission range. If you charge at home it's fine but you need to get the cheap overnight rates (they won't stay like that forever either) and not surprised you had arguments/disputes with others over queuing and how long you were there for...

[@Mr.P001]

I did a trip from London to Leeds earlier this year approx 400 miles round-trip with a stop or two and detours on the way. This was done on one tank full and for £100 of premium petrol. I believe to feel relatively comfortable with an EV, a range of 400 to 500 miles would be more acceptable to allow more charging to be done at the end of one's journey and not during, as your experience demonstrated.

[@Sturge0519]

Interesting, I went from Reading to Hexham for a wedding and back over a weekend, just over 600 miles in my EV. Got to the hotel 20 minutes after my brother in law on the way up and 10 minutes after he got home on the way back in his diesel Peugeot. We both live in Reading and set off together there and back, my cost under £30 his almost £90. Plugged in while taking a comfort break on the way up and back for a small charge and charged up overnight in Hexham next to the hotel. A fair number of EV’s have more range than most people’s bladder can hold up so 4/500 mile range not necessary and the battery size and weight to achieve that would not be very efficient.

[@Mr.P001]

@@Sturge0519 The weight would be an issue using current technologies and batteries but I would hope for performances of batteries to be improved going forward

[@moragkerr9577]

@@Mr.P001 Batteries will get better, but even now you can have a real-world range of over 300 miles and a charging time as fast as you can grab a sandwich and go to the loo. Who on earth wants to drive 400 to 500 miles non-stop? Is he wearing nappies? I did 450 miles in a relatively short-range, slow-charging EV and arrived fresh as a daisy having spent 7 hours driving and less than two charging - the charging stops were also meal breaks. And there are plenty EVs available that will do that on an hour or less charging time. Driver fatigue is a real problem on our roads, and EVs are a good way to avoid that. My previous car, a Golf, weighed 1.4 tonnes. My new car, an MG4 EV, weighs 1.8 tonnes. Yes, it's more, but it's not massive and there are plenty petrol SUVs that weigh more.

[@Mr.P001]

@@moragkerr9577 Ha Ha not at all. I would like to be safe in the fact that I had a range of 400 miles, nothing about non stop mentioned as a matter of fact I did say a stop or two, above. Unless a Tesla I have noticed the lack of chargers on *MY* journeys ie all in use, occasionally one or two broken, or the need for different cards/apps etc. I continue to monitor the EV field as I have done for many a year and I have got close on a few occasions to making that switch. In the meantime I will await that improvement in battery technology and the infrastructure

[@Mr.P001]

@@Sturge0519 @moragkerr9577 It's funny how people are quick to mention people's bladder when responding to my message when I already stated I had stopped for a couple of breaks 😂 Range ≠ Non Stop driving

[@gerrym4377]

£60 charging gets 250 miles 😱😂 What happened to them being cheap to run?

[@chrismcardell8137]

Most charging is done at home overnight on cheap rate. Blame Putin for the high energy prices.

[@cliffwilliams6521]

​@chrismcardell8137 Last time I checked we don't live in Russia so Putin ain't the problem 🤔

[@johnmurdock3591]

They used to be now it’s cheaper and more fun to run a V8 😂

[@Sh4un1r1k]

That was to entice enough people to buy into the scheme, short-term sacrificial losses for the long £££ game. They did the same with diesel. They don't care about emissions, they know its not an issue. The very people pushing this green agenda don't do what they say. All driving 4x4 v8s, have multiple powerful cars, use private jets etc. Why is hardly no one in government driving EVs setting an example?

[@eastwood978]

Charging at home 8000 miles a year in an EV, electricity cost £180 at cheap rate electricity 9p KWh. Petrol cost £6 gallon assuming 50 mpg £960 although still more fun in a V8.

[@andrewbaxter9395]

Videos like this are so important to show the reality of EV ownership. At this point they are little use for more than local runs but then who wants to spend £90k for that?

[@HighPeakAutos]

Exactly. I run the risk of burning bridges with Audi who lent me this car but this needed to be shown

[@tantanman2852]

The guy has made a fabulously slanted video unfortunately and clearly wanted to push an agenda. His channel lives and dies on ICE cars so wouldn’t want to stray from that.

[@MrSoppysod]

My 4 year old BMW i3 is the perfect car for retirees like us who can charge at home and don't need to rely on our car for regular long distance travel. When we do travel for more than 150 miles we choose the time of day and day of the week when traffic levels are generally lower and the various apps that we have tell us in advance if there is a charging point free or out of order, so you do need to plan ahead. I would always use Instavolt if I could, even if I had to do a small detour. Not for everyone I agree, but fine for our use and we have an MX5 as fall back!

[@sarahcarter824]

I would be a nervous wreck in an electric car. I don't drive but even I know that the UK isn't ready to go electric. Mum and I drive to Cornwall and we hire a diesel car each time and I like to hear the sound of an engine on a long journey because to me it's both comforting and reassuring. Petrol cars are freedom and the only time you have to worry is when there is a shortage of fuel at the pumps. Percy Pigs are the perfect travel companion. Keep up the good work.

[@glencannon2821]

Thank you mate for a good honest response to electrical cars 🚗 that's why the depreciation is so vast I will be like you and stick to normal engines

[@jonford6119]

It's the infrastructure that worries me. I could easily have a home charging box, but I frequently do a 305 mile trip North to visit family. There really isn't anything on the market that can do that in one charge, when loaded with four adults and luggage. Going up the M1 and A1, the charge network causes a worry. I can't recall a motorway service station where there has been a working EV charge point with space available. Either out of order, or full with cars queuing to use them. The only way round it seems to be to deviate from your route and try to find a charge point off the motorway.

[@VikLathia]

Really eye opening to see what it would be like if electric owners would like to do a road trip. It seems very stressfull and would ruin ones day out with just the constant thought of where will you find a working charger next. For everyday work commute and so on I guess evs would be fine? Really enjoyed the content so thanks so much 👍🏾

[@callumrobin9593]

It's really not that stressful, just plan your journey and stops then generally there are no issues.

[@johnnunn8688]

@@callumrobin9593, Matt’s video, just proved you wrong.

[@callumrobin9593]

No, it proved if you don't spend a few minutes extra planning your road trip you could be in his situation. Plan, volt and bolt and go! A lot of it could have been avoided. @@johnnunn8688

[@moragkerr9577]

@@johnnunn8688 Matt quite obviously made it as hard as possible for himself, for clicks.

[@moragkerr9577]

Or, you could ask people who have done these trips but aren't deliberately making it hard for themselves so they can get likes from the anti-EV mob. It's rare to find a charging station full outside very peak times. (Of course if you deliberately choose a busy place at a peak time, you will have a wait.) Many EVs have over 300 miles real-world range, and charging time that chimes nicely with the recommended breaks to avoid driver fatigue. Some are so fast you can barely get to the loo and buy a sandwich before you have to move the car. He went for type 2 chargers which wouldn't have given him any useful charge anyway. He went for a BP Pulse, notorious for being broken. He said he knew he should be going for Gridserve, but didn't. (They take ordinary plastic and charge extremely fast.) He hadn't made the slightest effort to get a card that would work on Ionity. Road trips are so relaxing on my EV that I've re-discovered my enthusiasm. Yes, they're absolutely perfect if you charge overnight at home and your regular daily mileage doesn't exceed the range of the car. Which is almost all owners. But if you want to go on a road trip, just check ahead which chargers you're likely to want to use, and check what payment they take. And head for Gridserve and Instavolt. Or on the other hand, avoid them like the plague if you want to make a contrived "look how awful it is" video.

[@callumrobin9593]

I appreciate where you're coming from in this video and the public charging network isn't perfect, however as an EV owner that covers a lot of miles with my job you just have to spend a few more minutes planning your trip and having a plan B/C if need be. There are some great apps to help you with this (ABRP for example). Home charging is by far the cheapest, Ionity offer big discounts on public charging for certain car brands and even if they are full/cars waiting you never have to wait much longer than 10-15 mins for a spot. Top up what you need to get to your location and go, no need to sit around to 100%. Going in blind to a road trip will more than likely have the outcome of your video, plan, volt and bolt then put the worry behind you. It becomes second nature very quickly.

[@stevensarson482]

The first experience I had in a Leaf was using the company car , to attend a meeting. It wasn’t a particularly long way away , but in my return leg I realized it would be touch and go unless I recharged the vehicle. After a long and stressful search I found a charge point and was amazed at how friendly the group of drivers were. Standing around waiting for my turn I thought I’d made friends for life. It turned out it was all a front and staying more than 15 minutes would not be a good move. I eventually got the car back to the office 3 hours later than expected. I then jumped into my own vehicle and kissed the steering wheel!

[@cosmos7492]

Thanks Matt for opening my eyes on these EV was thinking of getting one but not anymore enjoyed the video as always thank you

[@PixelVibe42]

There was another review of someone who opted for an eTron GT and ended up terminating the lease after their first (work related) road-trip. He said he simply didn't have the extra hours every day to sit around charging. Might be available online as a review - it was in a London newspaper I think, last year.

[@andrewwaller5913]

Buy an RS4 Avant instead

[@vxnova1]

The charge stations are still in early adoption phase, they will or at least should get better, This guy pointed out the worst case scenario, If you typically drive less than the car range and can charge at home then ev are ideal vehicles, Cheaper electric at home and never have to visit a charge station, If you make frequent long trips the you need to plan ahead, or don’t have ability to charge from home, then you definitely have to think about where the closest charger is how much driving you do etc,

[@andrewwaller5913]

@@vxnova1 You can't go any further than 120 miles from your house if you only want to charge from home. Its a luxury second car for short trips, nothing more. Oh and it cost 90k !

[@vxnova1]

@@andrewwaller5913 it can be done just needs a little bit of planning. Bear in mind that the case in the video is the worst case scenario, Where the best case is someone can charge from home, drive less than the range and they never have to go to a charger, it’s much cheaper too, but i agree the charging network needs to get better, and it should, in a few years from now hopefully every town will have multiple chargers. And you won’t have to worry about planning.

[@radamspse]

Hi Matt, I'm in Australia and the infrastructure here is worse than in the UK for electric charging points. I have just bought a new car and yep it's a petrol engine, our distances are far greater here and there are fewer charging points, Im afraid that EV's atm are only good for inner city driving.

[@eastwood978]

The UK has 50k public charging points which is amongst the highest in Europe. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[@PapaKlaassen]

Hi Matt, it's astonishing bad how the EV infrastructure is in the UK. Overhere in the Netherlands, and in the Nordics as well, we have a charging point on literally every street corner. Fast chargers and AC charges everywhere. Then it becomes almost fun to drive an EV 😂

[@eastwood978]

There are 50k public charging points in the UK which is well above average for European countries.

[@PapaKlaassen]

@@eastwood978 Tell that to the guys of High Peak Autos.

[@jonathanmoore994]

My partner bought a 3 year old Corsa E earlier this year (they are now very good value) and we took it to Norfolk (from Manchester) recently for a weeks holiday, complete with Labrador in the boot (the Labrador says he prefers the boot in my Mazda 3!). It was great. Yes, the range isn't all that good and we had to charge it every day, and twice on the journey there and back, but we had all the apps already downloaded on the phone, we plotted a route and knew where to find the cheapest chargers, and we never had to wait more than a couple of mins. Including the cheap charge at home before we left and the cheap charge from nearly empty when we go back, the fuel cost was more or less the same as I'd have spent on diesel in my Mazda. For someone who can mainly charge at home and just needs the occasional trip further afield, it works and is cheap and green as well as smooth and quiet. As a second car, it is a perfect choice. I agree though that the infrastructure isn't yet there for sales reps who are constantly on the go.

[@roelvanes1711]

Our main car was an EV (great on company car tax) but since I retired we burn unleaded. The infrastructure is woeful.... Our second car is a Honda E that charges on solar 9 months of the year, or night time cheap tarrif at about £2 per fill up. It costs the best part of nothing to run and we leave home with a full tank on every journey, perfecto 😊

[@RuanKapp-z7i]

Be interesting to see the same journey in a Tesla model 3 long range 😊

[@stevena9305]

Really need to do this trip in any Tesla and see how much difference the famous Supercharger network provides.

[@runawayronnie]

Going on this video, Tesla 3 drivers should expect arguments with Audi drivers who've just pinched your charging space 😄

[@Supraboyes]

would be even better in an lucid.

[@sebastianorye2702]

@@Supraboyes If we are talking pure range, sure. Not charging infrastructure though. Plus, its a bit out of most peoples price range

[@randomstoragespace]

I do road trips every weekend in my Model Y long range. Never had to queue to charge and costs much less per KWH than these non Tesla brand chargers. If you want to avoid the problems this guy faced, get a Tesla

[@ashtonbackup934]

We tried this in my mums bmw ix 40 worst experience ever we had to stop 3 times each way for 40 mins each

[@SDK2006b]

I have an iX - 5 mins planning a couple of decent charging stops prior to your long journey fixes all the driving around staring at 7kWh street chargers 🤣 Check the availability of the charging site on route to save driving into a full one. I did a 750 mile trip in August with zero issues. This video is easy to make if you’re out to prove a point ! [views =💰]

[@boogeyman423]

​@@SDK2006bI don't think HPA hates electric cars but the points he's shown are correct. Pay huge money for EV, waste time waiting at charging stations. It's basically waiting for others to free up the spot and then wait to charge. Also, the price of electricity seems to be absurd, at least for you folks in UK. At this moment it's basically a scam.

[@petersmitham8273]

I think every Tory politician should be made to own and drive one as their only mode of transport…..I’ll stick to my diesel Kadjar thank you very much..😅😂🎉❤

[@JMc.D]

@@SDK2006b I see both sides of the argument. Planning is key but I don’t want to have to plan every trip I take.

[@fastasfox]

​@@SDK2006b And what if I want to tow my caravan the 340 mile trip to Cornwall turn around then go fetch my boat. That's the best part of 1400 miles and I can only imagine the drain on a battery on the battery towing causes. We are going to the trouble of replacing the nasty internal combustion engine and you are replacing them with an equally damaging battery car...bigger fool you I say. And by the way, I did the above trip in my bmw 520d on two tanks of fuel and it only took 10 minutes to re-fuel....progress I guess.

[@modmod392]

3 early adopters of EV’s I know, will be replacing their vehicles with i.c.e cars in the next 6 months. All are busy people who simply do not have the time to waste.

[@jameshoward3303]

You are spot on with the , ok as a second car comment. I have an EV but my wife has a diesel and any long trips we take that every time. EVs are great cars but right now they are highly compromised with a poor infrastructure and way too expensive unless its on a business lease .

[@theteacuphead]

I currently own a 2016 Nissan Leaf and use it for short and long journeys. I’m glad it’s not just me that feels the stresses of long journeys. Whilst I sometimes regret not having my former petrol car (VW Up), overall I enjoy the driving experience and comfort.

[@gwilko6452]

Watching this has made me feel so much better about filling up my l322 4.4 v8 petrol once a week 😂

[@HighPeakAutos]

Haha me too

[@keithwright2186]

I have driven an Etron GT for around 18 months. I have found the infrastructure limited but, if you do plenty of planning it's workable (if a lot more expensive than charging at home). Did the North Coast 500 over the summer with no issues so road trips are definitely possible but found charging took longer than I would have liked, having to re-plan to get around the inevitable out of order charger. A slight negative more than made up for by the Etrons drive.

[@PREMIUMCARDETAILING121]

😅

[@marcokoopal3527]

Although I agree with you the infrastructure in the UK looks very underwhelming, I also cannot help thinking it could be a smoother journey with better preparation. That being said, it’s also a testament how incredibly well Tesla implemented their Supercharging network. Doing road-trips in our EV is a breeze using the Superchargers and for Tesla drivers it’s very affordable.

[@mobilrz]

My wife has a BMW i3 REx, and it’s the best of both worlds, plug in charging, 50-60 mile range for commute and petrol generator for long haul. No more range anxiety. £90k eTron GT will depreciate quicker than your designer sweater collection Matt! 🤭

[@tomstone5616]

My wife and I ordered an ID3 and it took well over 18 months for it to be delivered to us. The car is fine but you are definitely bang on the money the infrastructure in the UK Is still about 10years being anywhere near being ready! Currently looking at ditching it for a petrol or diesel x3 or glc

[@richyclubsport5155]

I've two friends who got out of lease agreements with EVs, they don't do what they say on the tin. And range really drops of dramatically as miles increased, one of them said he's never had so such stress in the year a bit he owned his in his life, and he's seen a fight in an Lidl charging point incidentally when he handed it back he was told he was one of many who've done the same

[@MetalVII]

On the flip side I took my new (to me) Tesla Model S 90D on our family holiday a few months back, total miles around 700 (there and back). It was flawless. We stopped to charge twice (left home with 100%) on the way down, it would have been one charge but I wanted extra power to run Sentry mode (personal CCTV for the car). On the way back home the car needed 3 charges (all of the charges on the trip were just under 25 minutes and around £20 a pop) because we left the hotel with 25% due to Sentry taking quite a bit of power…my fault really. I parked (I didn’t know at the time) outside the bit of the hotel where the deliveries come in, so Sentry was triggered quite often, hence the large amount of battery that was taken. The Tesla app reported that I’d spent £67 for the entire return journey in electricity. This beats the money I would have put in my old BMW 520D and trounced my old Hybrid Toyota RAV4. I only use Tesla Superchargers (when on long trips but my battery delivers roughly 260 miles from a full charge and I don’t really leave my local area anymore, so plenty of range for me. And yes, we do have solar panels but mainly charge via Intelligent Octopus smart tariff where electricity becomes £0.075p when charging the car (Octopus talks to the car to verify the charge and away it goes) so a full charge at home is £6.75. EVs aren’t for everyone but for me it’s perfect. I’d only have a Tesla though, just because of the (nearly) bullet proof Supercharger Network.

[@pigeonpoo1823]

You are aware that Tesla are opening up their Supercharger network. Soon, you're going to be stuck at charging stations waiting.....just like everyone else

[@Gaaaaav]

@@pigeonpoo1823the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are the best selling EV's in the UK.... and anytime I've gone to charge my non Tesla EV at a Tesla site which is open to non Tesla's I've yet to be 'stuck waiting' - so what you've said isn't true at all.

[@pigeonpoo1823]

@@Gaaaaav 1)it's being trialled, so currently only around 15 sites have this facility. 2)how many non-tesla owners are aware of this? Unless you read car mags, how would anyone know this trial is happening? Once this becomes common knowledge, either Superchargers stations will become more congested or Tesla will remove this benefit.

[@Gaaaaav]

​@@pigeonpoo1823 you've literally just proved to me that you do not know what you're talking about. 1. There's a lot more than 15 open to non-Tesla's and the so called 'trial' has been open for 15 months with many more sites opening as we speak. 2. Coming from someone who has been in the EV community for over 3 years - the EV community are well aware of these open sites and are using them regularly... the internet does exist remember - not just 'car mags'. 3. Telsa are yet to remove this so called 'benefit' in the countries where they've opened ALL of the units to Non-Tesla's despite these countries having more EV's on the road than the UK. Also by having the supercharger network open to all EV's brings stability and infrastructure that die hard ICE fans are calling for, why would Tesla take this away especially when it puts more money in Elon's pocket? 4. Please do your research properly before looking like an arse.

[@MetalVII]

@@pigeonpoo1823 well it has been on the internet for quite a while and it’s been all over the FB groups too. The idea is if Tesla do go through with the trial and open up all the charging site to all makes/models then it will introduce competition (in regards to price and simplicity) for the other charger brands out there. I mean, it has to. Imagine if your usage and profits dip by 50% suddenly.

[@MuscleBandit]

Thanks for doing this video Matt. This is the real world insight into the EV ownership experience which the government and the stealerships will never share while they pitch their products to us. If everyone refuses to buy them then the government will have no choice but to go back to the ICE engine drawing board or at least keep pushing the EV deadline back and back and back. The automotive industry is far too big for domestic and global gdp not to be affected by lack of sales of these EV's. The people can always push back by not buying them until we are heard, this will also help relieve pressure on manufactures who are only allowed to sell a small percentage of ICE engined vehicles.

[@rangie944]

Matt, you hit the nail on the head when you said, use your petrol / diesel car for long journeys and a second (electric) car for short journeys. We use an old BMW i3 with a max range (real world ) of 80 miles. Works great for us and charge the (shopping trolley) twice a week at home. A Volvo XC60 diesel otherwise. No doubt the Audi is a stunning car, thanks for another great video.

[@JMNTN]

i would also highly recommend to never scan qr codes in public because it's very easy for someone to put a fake qr code over it and hack your phone

[@P3G4G3]

Love the videos Matt, I really think if you used a Model 3 Performance or similar Tesla with the supercharger network, your experience would be vastly different!

[@bengenovese6591]

I agree with a lot of your points particularly the cost of fast charging and the lack of decent charging stations in some areas. In reality everyone uses Zapmap which tells you if chargers are a) in working order and b) vacant so it’s very seldom you’d ever pull up to find them broken if you check first. I do Glasgow to Manchester for the football a lot. Stop for 15mins in Wigan Crow Orchard MFG and then park at MFG at the Ethiad. Same on the way back. Same amount of time I’d spend stopping for a toilet break anyway. I’ve done Glasgow to London once, it wasn’t as easy although, for me I prefer to stop 3 or 4 times for 15mins at a time. Far more efficient if a little annoying. Adds about 30mins to the journey vs a fossil fuel car each way. Diesel is still king for these journeys of course, but the electric car saves me £1000s in tax

[@grahamf695]

My EV has a realistic range of about 300 miles. I stick to 70 mph on motorways. The vast majority of my return trips are 50 miles or less and sometimes we do 100 miles from home in south Manchester to Leeds and back - still easily within range. This year I have driven one way from Belfast (where I bought the car) to home, and return trips to south Wales and also to Westminster in London (about 400 miles). I did not have charging problems on any of them. The difference compared to your trip is that I ordered some EV charge cards and registered with some phone apps. You have to do this only when you first get the car. I also did some planning before the trips, which avoided the problems that you had. Plenty of other EV owners do the same and are perfectly happy with their cars.

[@jonwetherell5214]

Nailed it. I have a small EV as the second car charging at home ( from solar) 95% of the time. Cheap and works great. On the 5% of the time I use a public charger I would say over half are problematic..all the faults you identified. When Renault first launched their EV in France they gave a discount card for ( a limited number) of car hires with a major player. So the road trip or family holiday was covered. Perhaps it is time to resurrect that idea in the UK.

[@kerryjones1508]

I know a few people who have been all smug about leasing an EV. (They rarely own them). The problems you highlighted turned them into an anxious, sweaty mess. Swapped them back for IC vehicles.

[@brettc1169]

Did 3000 miles round France and Spain during summer, no issues or Dramas 😊 Max I had to wait for a charger was a few Mins…

[@lindsayclubb]

Couldn't you tell us a little more? Excellent infrastructure? Or fewer EV drivers wanting to top up? I appreciate you can't be wholly objective but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts.

[@brettc1169]

@@lindsayclubb Travelled through the Euro tunnel to southern France then onto Benidorm, then back again. Lots of chargers in Europe, cheaper than the UK too. Remember to get a toll tag, I used bip n go… overall a great relaxed journey.

[@lindsayclubb]

@@brettc1169 Great, thanks.

[@brettc1169]

@@lindsayclubb best advice, charge when you can not when you need too, that mindset will make for a pleasant road trip… 😎.

[@DeanoEV135]

I own a Model 3 performance and this is one of the reasons I went Tesla. The infrastructure is there, and the costs to run are significantly less. Not easier than an ICE vehicle of course, but better than every other EV and easily manageable for most especially with a home charger where it costs me £5.50 to do 280 miles... For balance I also own a RRS 3.0 SDV6 😂

[@borinvlogs]

Hey same here with Tesla 3 Performance. Done 10,000 miles in just 5 months, travelling around the UK and costs me nothing on fuel or charging cost as i get FREE destination chargers, FREE charge at work and £3 to charge at home using 7p kw Octopus and my solar roof. I wouldn't be able to drive and enjoy this much if it was a petrol car with this much 3.1s to 60 performance figure and 500+ bhp. Love Tesla and i also have a Porsche Boxster S for that flat six sound and roof down fun lol but £100 to fill up, so hardly use it except in the summer.

[@stevieev]

Yes same, M3P also. The open network is appalling, the Tesla network is fantastic. This is why the blanket 'you can't do a long journey in an EV' statement isn't true. You can in a Tesla, and I do regularly.

[@DeanoEV135]

@@borinvlogs that acceleration never gets boring does it, and you never quite get used to it do you. No special launch setting or messing about, just nail it and burn 99% of cars off on silent bliss.

[@chrisubels]

This is totally different in the Netherlands. High Speed chargers at every highway station and loads of Tesla charger at different places to be used by any EV. Hassle free. Shell Card works at every charger except for Tesla which uses the app.

[@laufaltum6860]

the same in Denmark; EV ownership is also no problem here. And the Tesla Model Y is even the most sold new car here.

[@Manos-de-Piedra]

Thanks for your feedback gents

[@lawriebrice1103]

2nd car comment is spot on. Our little Fiat 500e is great for around town and that's the end of it. I am amazed at the cost to charge. At home we have seen no increase in our electricity bill at all. It is more expensive to put underfloor heating or aircon on by a long way.

[@jcflippen1552]

Enjoyed the video as usual but I did feel that it would not have taken much effort to slightly think ahead and avoid most of your bad experiences. Cobham is the busiest services in the country and BP chargers are the most unreliable. Instavolt have never let me down in nearly 2 years of EV motoring and an Octopus Electroverse card works with most chargers including Ionity. Open Tesla Superchargers always have plenty of spaces. Must say have just travelled almost 2000 miles across France with Ionity and Tesla without a hitch.

[@moragkerr9577]

It was a deliberate set-up to manufacture as much difficulty as possible. I had a Golf GTi until this spring, when I changed it for an MG4. I've rediscovered the joy of road trips, simply because the EV is so relaxing to drive, and makes you take the breaks you need to avoid driver fatigue. I've seldom had to queue for a charger - just twice at the Stafford Ionity ones, and only for about ten minutes. Everywhere else I've got straight on. Obviously if driving long distances with as little charging time as possible was my priority I'd have bought a car with a longer range and a faster charging speed. But even in my car it's nothing like as hard as he makes it out to be.

[@TheComputec]

@@moragkerr9577 What the video shows is that even if you plan your journey to avoid range anxiety, you are still having to deal with A> Queues at the chargers B>Chargers not working C> Having to have accounts with half a dozen EV charge suppliers D> Being ripped off with the charging prices E> Having to keep a car-load of kids happy while you wait for a slot or queue up for a £4 coffee and a £6.50 sandwich while you are charging "relaxing to drive, and makes you take the breaks you need to avoid driver fatigue" what a glowing endorsement when you need to get somewhere on a deadline It's a NO from me

[@moragkerr9577]

@@TheComputec What the video shows is that if you want to make it look difficult and stressful, you can do enough senseless things to let you fire off a rant that will brainwash the gullible. When he started out by going to a tourist destination where there were only two type 2 chargers, saying he expected to be able to charge the car in an hour, it was obvious to anyone that it was a set-up. Even if he'd found a free connector there, he'd maybe have got 20 miles in that time, then he could have ranted about that. These chargers are not meant for what he was trying to do. It's true that the government has been shamefully dilatory in getting a decent public charging network set up for the country - in contrast to places like Norway and France, where you really can take off and rely on finding a suitable charger when you decide you want it. But first, it's not nearly as bad as the naysayers make out, and second, that's the government's fault, not the fault of the cars. To set up a stupid rant against EVs when it's the charging network that's the problem is completely missing the point. And third, the vast majority of EV owners don't give a toss, because they spend about 30 seconds every few nights plugging their cars into cheap off-peak or free solar electricity, and wake up to a "full tank".

[@TheComputec]

@@moragkerr9577 vast majority have cheap plug in home charging…? I think you probably meant to say a lot of people have cheap plug in home charging as you will be unable to provide evidence that it’s the vast majority. Nobody including myself had anything negative to say about the car or the underlying technology… you said it yourself it’s the infrastructure. Maybe you only do relatively short runs around town in your car as many ev owners do but they ARE problematic for users with long commutes, high mileage or regular long trips. EV sales have halved in the last year and the second hand dealers are starting to see a lot of them being traded in because of poor charging infrastructure availability. I agree that France is great for charging infrastructure… not much use if you live in Inverness or Cornwall though

[@geoffashden2]

Great video, confirming all my suspicions. There's no way I'd buy an EV, the experience is far too stressful for my taste. As a run around to use locally, taking the kids to school, local shopping etc. I'm sure a small EV would be great but even then, only if you have a home charger. Many people where I live in London need to street park so the idea of driving miles to find a working charger is not a practical option! I'm doing a round trip from London to Derby next week in my petrol car and I'm confident I can do the round trip on a tank of fuel! As you mentioned £40K depreciation in two years is an absolute joke. I dread to think what it would cost to replace the battery in that car!

[@moragkerr9577]

Maybe don't get your information from someone who is setting the scenario up to fail. Yes the cars are great if you don't exceed your practical range on your daily drives. Which few people do. Imagine, NO fuelling worries for 95% of the time. But even if you do a long trip, it's far less stressful than in an ICE car for various reasons. In London on-street charging is becoming widely available, just plug in to a lamp-post overnight. Also, for many round trips you can charge at your destination while you get on with your business, ready for the road home. I don't know where anyone got the idea of £40,000 depreciation in four years, but my EV only cost £27,000 new. And it's the size of a Golf, not a Ka! Also, the batteries in these cars will last longer than the car does. When the car rusts into the ground, the battery will be worth good money to sell on to its second life as a static power bank. At worst the components will be recycled to make new car batteries. Maybe stop believing the Daily Mail.

[@geoffashden2]

Your'e talking crap, Where I live in London, few people have a driveway or garage and there is no on-street charging at all. There is also the high risk of EV's catching fire which is why many insurance companies are refusing to insure them. If the batteries are so long lasting, why is there no second hand market? As the rare minerals to make these batteries become scarcer, their cost will sky rocket. in the next few years EVs will go down the same route as Betamax.@@moragkerr9577

[@jeffleahey1037]

Pity they can’t stick a v8 in that.

[@HighPeakAutos]

It would be much better for it

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

@HighPeakAutos Sounds like a future video, obviously not a brand new electric car, but it's an idea.

[@andrewwaller5913]

Audi already did with the RS4 and RS6 years ago. That's the way to go.

[@jeffleahey1037]

Has anyone thought that these Evs aren’t meant to work.

[@Dickie2702]

Have read most of comments and it seems very few people seem to care about the environment. Just saying you know, there are extremely valid reasons behind net zero.

[@kernowgolfguy4598]

Recently sold a BMW i3, it had the smallest battery but also a rex (range extender.). Perfect car for small trips and town driving, if you pretty much just drive locally, oh and can charge from home. Thats how you save money, a home charger with ev tariff. I just got fed up with arctic lorries passing me on the motorway as i was sat at 55mph. 😅 Gone back to ice, 435i. Its now smiles per miles. Every time i start the engine i smile.

[@ianmead7712]

Hi Matt and well said they are useless on long Journeys and it can’t cost you time and £61 one way I did 440 mile in my Jaguar 3.0 super charged xf petrol there and back for £82.50 which is about 37/38 to the gallon which is much cheaper to run than an EV using a service station to charge and I had 133 miles still left in the tank For motorway driving and more stress too Matt but it only does 20 mpg around town 😅

[@thelifeofbatteries2603]

Garbage, i've done Poland and back at a far less cost than you can dream about, i've also done Spain and back for FREE

[@johnhaynes9910]

Yep, in a nutshell, EV technology is brilliant and likely the future but just not now. Despite your experiences Matt, to me it is not even that the infrastructure when it works isn't there, it is simply the time it takes to recharge the darn things, it's like putting petrol in a car using a bucket and a stirup pump - foot operated of course :)

[@Dulc3B00kbyBrant0n]

How is it brilliant lol? Its literally a backwards step in every sense unless u believe c02 is harmful to the environment despite that being what feeds crops and all plant life

[@timothyshanks6799]

Time to charge isn't an issue, 150 miles is roughly 3 hours so you need a comfort break anyway. On a fast charger, 20 mins is all that is need so park the car, nip to the toilet, get a bag of crisps and by the time you walk back you are pretty much done, quick look on KZbin at most. That's in a tesla. In anything else the charger are full or slow or don't work at all and then very expensive in which case a nightmare

[@nigeltrueman6101]

no it isn't brilliant at all unless its on fire, then its illuminating. Seriously the future is a mix of petrol, diesel, hybrids and electric. none are going anywhere

[@johnhaynes9910]

@@timothyshanks6799 Actually I don't agree with you simply because you are not looking closely enough at the issue which is tied to 'The Numbers'. For the majority of people who only need 30/40 miles daily usage most of these issues can be resolved by home charging unfortunately it is calculated that as many as 40% of people (flats etc) cannot home charge. At the moment EVs are a small percentage of the overall car market but what happens when 20/25% are EVs ? The number of public charging points because of the time it takes to charge, will have to ramp up considerably and the incentive for commercial businesses to provide this capacity will come as higher charges to the motorist. To me a lot of the EV technology we have seen already, is the future but the real brake on progress is that we just don't have the right storage technology - batteries and this is as true of the Grid as it is each EV.

[@gordonbarnes]

EV's are fine if you use them for the odd jaunt around town and charge them overnight, we are nowhere near them being adequate enough for long distance travel.

[@kiwitrains]

I totally agree with everything you said the car looked great especially to see it’s not an suv, £92K an absolute nightmare.

[@jasongreen7065]

Great video and honest review of an EV. A mate of mine who has a Tesla swears by it and says the Supercharger Infrastructure for Teslas are great. ICE for me all day long. 👍👍👍

[@TabsT-vy5jy]

"infrastructure isn't there" (meanwhile Tesla chargers are available and waiting). Poor journalism.

[@HighPeakAutos]

I don’t want a Tesla.

[@TabsT-vy5jy]

@@HighPeakAutos it isn't about what you personally want mate. It's about telling the facts about the infrastructure. Just because Tesla have a better infrastructure then everyone else doesn't mean you should stretch the truth.

[@HighPeakAutos]

@@TabsT-vy5jy I wasn’t filming with a Tesla. I was filming with an Audi.

[@TabsT-vy5jy]

@@HighPeakAutos exactly my case and point. Your statement was very broad but you chose to be lazy with your research and info. Go check "out of spec reviews". That guy (and his father) "out of spec Dave" are very very informed and detailed. You might learn something.

[@karljones9649]

We did 850 miles in one day from Switzerland to East Anglia in our 2020 Tesla model 3 in August with 5 adults on board. It was easy. No dramas. No planning needed. No waiting. In each charge stop the car was charged and ready for the next leg before we had grabbed a snack and used the toilet at services. In 50k miles I’ve never had a single problem with infrastructure.